As water levels on area waterways continue to decline and flood waters recede, the process of assessing damage and clean-up continues. But it is going to take some time.

“The fairgrounds and other areas are still under water yet, so we won’t have a completed damage assessment for some time,” said Doug Devries of the Ionia County Office of Emergency Management.

Devries has asked both the city of Ionia and Ionia County to extend their declarations of a state of emergency because the declaration “helps us facilitate our response and recovery, and allows us to request additional assistance from the state and federal government,” said Devries.

The Ionia City Council will meet in a special session at 5 p.m. Friday at Ionia City Hall to take action on that request. The Ionia County Board of Commissioners also is expected to meet Friday at the courthouse to take action.

The initial state of emergency only lasts for seven days under statute, said Ionia City Manager Jason Eppler.

“Since a full assessment is not done yet, this protects us from the perspective that if an opportunity to find reimbursement from FEMA (arises, the city and county may be eligible),” Eppler said. “(Devries) has done an excellent job, and we have full faith in his request to approve the resolution to extend the state of emergency until May 24, or sooner if it is no longer necessary.”

In spite of the declaration, “it’s business as usual around here,” said Eppler. “People can still come to Ionia to eat at restaurants, buy gas, come to work, recreate.”

As normalcy returns to the county, the Red Cross emergency shelter has changed to an aid station, open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

“We will not be a housing location anymore, but will just offer aid for those who need it, like cleaning kits and water, and a place to take a shower,” said shelter volunteer Penny Beeman. “We’re basically that resource, and if people have any questions we’re the face of the Red Cross to ask.”

The Ionia County Road Commission continues to work on closed and damaged roads around the county, said Managing Director Dorothy Pohl.

The list of closures remains at 25, because although some roads have been reopened, crews are finding others to add where washouts are making them impassable. Motorists should continue to check the Ionia County Central Dispatch Facebook page for an up-to-date list of road closures.

There are six locations, four paved and two unpaved, for which Pohl is working with the emergency management office for possible grants. These may require tube replacements or expensive major fixes.

Page 2 of 2 - “Our big shotgun estimate is $1.2 million on just those locations,” she said. “We don’t know how much we’re going to have to do there yet.”

“Besides that, our crews are continuing to work overtime this week in an attempt to get everything opened as fast as we can and fix the minor stuff,” Pohl said.

She added that this means that crews are not out scraping gravel roads, although some of them are in bad shape after all the rain.

“We need some understanding from people, as we are trying to do what we can and trying to get things turned around as fast as we can,” Pohl said. “But this has put us behind, and it will be a hit in the budget.”

The high water level at Morrison Lake has prompted officials at the Ionia State Recreation Area to close the boat access site there until further notice. Boaters may want to consider Sessions Lake (a no-wake lake) and Jordan Lake as alternatives. A recreation passport is required for both. Call 616-527- 3750 for further information.

The community continues to rally to support those residents and businesses affected by the flood, Devries said.

“Any time you have a tight-knit community like this, people are willing to help their neighbors, and it is appreciated,” he said. “The volunteers, both managed and spontaneous, continue to occur. It’s an incredible sight to see.”